Being a bird loving photographer has is its perks… On Friday morning I had an engagement session scheduled at the Carroll Howard Johnson Environmental Park. As is my habit, I arrived about 30 minutes before my shoot started so that I could scope out the lighting conditions before my clients arrived. Of course, I did a little birding too because if there’s ever an opportunity to combine bird watching with my photography job, I’m going to take it lol!
I was stoked to find a Broad-winged Hawk in the woods as I made my way down the path. He was calling out to an unseen partner and eventually settled down to preen quietly on his branch. Walking as silently as I possible, I crept down a small ravine to take a few photos in the shadowed wood. Happily he did not mind my presence and remained in a relaxed state as he peered down at me from above.
The Broad-winged Hawk is a medium-sized raptor found mainly in central and western NC. If you see a hawk with two white bands and two black bands on its broad tail, it’s probably one of these handsome birds. They will stick around the Tarheel State until September before they depart on their southward journey to their wintering grounds in Central America and central South America. There is still time to see them around here for a few more months so get out there and enjoy these gorgeous birds while you can 🙂
Early last week I headed out to the Carroll Howard Johnson Environmental Park in Fuquay-Varina N.C. to see what birds I could find. Happily I was able to spot a few Red-eyed Vireos in the forest at the edge of an open field. I’ve been trying to get a good clear photo of one all year but since they usually hang out in the heavily shaded mid to upper canopy of the trees, that has been difficult.
These sweet little birds actually hang out in my own back yard but are somewhat shy when it comes to having their photos taken. If you’d like to attract Red-eyed Vireos to your own yard here are some ideas that may help…
50% of the Red-eyed Vireo’s summer diet is composed of caterpillars. They will also eat a variety other insects too, so fostering an insect friendly environment is key to attracting it. Caterpillar friendly trees like Oak, Beech and Maple are Red-eyed Vireo favorites. In addition to insects, the Red-eyed Vireo will eat small berries – especially towards fall migration – so planting and maintaining berry producing shrubs shown in the list below is a good idea.
A couple of days ago, I took an early morning birding trip to the Carrol Howard Johnson Environmental Park in Fuquay Varina, NC. I had heard that there were Barred Owls to be found here. Happily, I was not disappointed! Look at this sweet snoozing one I found sleeping high in the branches of a Long-leaf Pine tree.
One common misconception is that Barred Owls are strictly nocturnal animals (animals that are active at night and inactive during the day). They are most often heard after dark, but Barred Owls might actually be better described as crepuscular. Crepuscular is a term used to describe animals that are primarily active during the twilight — at dawn and at dusk. In fact, these birds are known to do the majority of their hunting at dawn and dusk. In addition, they can be quite active during the day (diurnal) when raising owlets or on overcast days such the morning I photographed this one. Check out the next photo to see his mate who was wide awake 😉
Photos captured with my mighty Canon 5DS. If you are interested in
getting shots like these with this 50 MP beast of a camera, please check
out the link below to Canon USA.
Birdwatching NC is sponsored by Canon USA and I am proud to be a
Canon shooter. After 13 years of trusting my professional photography
business to Canon’s line of products, I cannot recommend this company
strongly enough. If you have have any questions about my gear, shoot me a
message!
Birdwatching NC is also sponsored by Zenfolio. Zenfolio is a
photography website gallery and hosting company. I’ve been using
Zenfolio to show and sell my images for over a decade and actually
recommend this company to other photographers over WordPress!
You can check out Zenfolio for free by clicking the link below.
With custom galleries, online storage, the ability to sell prints and
digital downloads, a powerful blog with seamless SEO tools, Zenfolio
provides everything a professional photographer would need to run their
photography business online.
Lastly, in addition to running things around here at Birdwatching NC, plus operating a North Carolina outdoor wedding photography company,
I also provide website SEO and building services for photographers who
need a solution to showing and selling their work online through my
company Websites for Photographers.
In a nutshell, I design kickass websites on the Zenfolio platform
built from the ground up with a sound foundation of SEO principles in
place so that my clients get found by more customers on the web.
I also provide SEO services and site audits for existing Zenfolio users to fix search engine indexing problems fast.
If you are a wildlife or bird photographer who is in need of a solid
website please check out my company Websites for Photographers by
clicking the photo link below.
A few days ago, I headed out to go bird watching at a park in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina which does not have a gate restricting trail access. I like the fact that it’s possible to get out here early before a few of the joggers and dog walkers arrive which would give me the best opportunity to see the birds.
Here is a video below of my highlight birds which included my first sighting of 2020 of Barred Owls!
Here is my eBird list which included 11 species 🙂
One of the things I liked about this park is that there are two distinct habitats for birders to explore. Deep woods and a narrow open field with a small creek winding through it all. In the late spring and summer months it’s a haven for breeding songbirds and a real gem of a birding spot when other parks get busy (or get shut down).
Below is are a few of my favorite photos from the trip which are featured in the video above. Although I did not net a whole lot of different species, I had a great time just being outdoors in the woods. I’m really looking forward to returning here in a couple of weeks to see what is flying around once spring migration gets underway.
Barred OwlYellow-rumped WarblerAnother Barred Owl just because they are awesome 🙂Black and white Warbler
If you’d like to visit the Carroll Howard Johnson Environmental Education Park for yourself, here is a map of the location below…
Be on the lookout for videos and photos from my next trip back to this nice little birding spot next month. Hopefully I’ll have a longer species list to share with you then 🙂
Until next time, Happy Birding!
-Sally Siko
Photos and video captured with my mighty Canon 5DS. If you are
interested in getting shots like these with this 50 MP beast of a
camera, please check out the link below to Canon USA.
Birdwatching NC is sponsored by Canon USA and I am proud to be a
Canon shooter. After 13 years of trusting my professional photography
business to Canon’s line of products, I cannot recommend this company
strongly enough. If you have have any questions about my gear, shoot me a
message!
Birdwatching NC is also sponsored by Zenfolio. Zenfolio is a
photography website gallery and hosting company. I’ve been using
Zenfolio to show and sell my images for over a decade and actually
recommend this company to other photographers over WordPress!
You can check out Zenfolio for free by clicking the link below.
With custom galleries, online storage, the ability to sell prints and
digital downloads, a powerful blog with seamless SEO tools, Zenfolio
provides everything a professional photographer would need to run their
photography business online.
Lastly, in addition to running things around here at Birdwatching NC, plus operating a North Carolina outdoor wedding photography company,
I also provide website SEO and building services for photographers who
need a solution to showing and selling their work online through my
company Websites for Photographers.
In a nutshell, I design kickass websites on the Zenfolio platform
built from the ground up with a sound foundation of SEO principles in
place so that my clients get found by more customers on the web.
I also provide SEO services and site audits for existing Zenfolio users to fix search engine indexing problems fast.
If you are a wildlife or bird photographer who is in need of a solid
website please check out my company Websites for Photographers by
clicking the photo link below.
Spotted this Pine Warbler recently in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. He was one of several that were in a mixed flock consisting of Magnolia & Pine Warblers feeding on insects in the oak tree.
These small yellowish birds seem to be everywhere these days here in central North Carolina. With the cooler weather upon us, they are out in force, searching for the last batch of insects to fill up on. 🍁
Pine Warblers are an all year round resident in the Tarheel State. This insectivorous species also happen to be the only wood-warbler known to regularly consume seeds (often pine seeds or seeds at bird feeders) due to seasonal physiological changes in their digestive systems to allow for digestion of seeds. 🍁
Hey, if you want to see warblers in the Triangle, check out the Caroll Howard Johnson Environmental Park in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. Photo by @sally_siko Canon 5Ds
Today I went birding at the Carroll Howard Johnson environmental park in Fuquay Varina. This local patch has been reaching hot spot birding status lately so I thought I’d make the trip to check it out for myself.
I arrived at about 7:15 am and set out on the trail. My goal was to reach the open field in the middle of the park. Upon reaching the clearing, I was greeted by the sounds of birds singing and the fluttering of wings. The first bird I observed was a cheerful Carolina Wren preening himself on a branch. After watching him for a few minutes, I headed down the trail into the woods. Here I found an Oven-bird and a black-and-white Warbler.
Continuing on the path I also found a summer Tanager sneaking through the leaves of the canopy above. What a handsome bird! I was pleased to also catch a glimpse of his mate too.
Once the fog lifted and the sun came out, the heat became a little bit too much so, I decided to head back up to the parking lot. As I was leaving, I caught a glimpse of a eastern-wood- Peewee high up in a tree overlooking the field.
Driving home, I decided that that would not be my last trip to this interesting little park. Going forward, I plan to post more pictures from future trips so stay tuned for more!
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